For Beginners
by ladyoftheknightley
Summary: The Weasley family have to pick up the pieces and move on after the events of the final battle, but that's easier said than done. Bill and Fleur are adamant that bringing a child into a war-torn world is not a good idea, but it seems fate has other ideas... Bill, Fleur and the story of Victoire, for the Nine Months Challenge at HPFC
1. June

**Disclaimer:** the Harry Potter universe is belongs solely to JK Rowling; this is written for entertainment purposes only and no profit is being made from it.

**A/N:** I've wanted to do something like this for ages: this is the story of what life was like for the Weasley family for the first year (ish) after the war, but specifically Bill and Fleur, with their first baby on its way. This will have nine parts (one for each month of Fleur's pregnancy) but this first chapter takes place before she is actually pregnant (for reasons that will become clear later)!

_For Black Rose Blue's Nine Months Challenge on HPFC._

* * *

Percy Weasley was not known for his spontaneity, and so when he turned up in Bill Weasley's office six weeks after the end of the second wizarding war to announce the fact he was getting married that afternoon, his brother's first instinct was to check that this was not some doppelganger impersonating him.

"No, really, I _am_ getting married this afternoon," Percy said rather earnestly. "And I need you to come with me and help persuade Mum."

"Help persuade...Perce, I need you to start again from the beginning," replied Bill, pouring himself a rather large mug of coffee. It looked like it was going to be that sort of an afternoon.

"Right, well, you remember Audrey, don't you?" began Percy.

Bill pretended to think for a moment. "Hmm, Audrey...brunette, about yea high?" he asked. "Of course I remember your bloody fiancée you fool! But I thought you only just got engaged – why would you want to rush into a marriage?"

"We got engaged last September, so it's been nearly a year," said Percy. "But I wanted to wait until the war was over and I'd...returned before we got married."

"Right, yes," Bill said quickly, nearly skirting around any potential awkwardness. "And now both of those things have happened and you're going to get married – which is lovely, don't get me wrong, but why today? Or did you send out invitations a while back but get Errol to deliver mine?"

"No, I...no. Audrey sent her parents abroad to Canada when she heard about Voldemort's rise to power. She's muggleborn, and she's got a little sister who's a muggle, so she modified their memories and sent them away – almost exactly like Hermione did, you know?" Percy said.

"I know, but what—"

"I'm getting there," said his brother. "Obviously, the war is over now so it's safe for them to come back, and so Audrey wants to go and fetch them. But loads of people had a similar idea – you know, sending loved ones abroad and modifying their memories in case they died – and now they all want to go and fetch them. Plus, there's witches and wizards who fled the country trying to get back in, and on top of _that_ there's a load of Voldemort's supporters trying to run away in the general confusion. You know Rabastan Lestrange actually managed to get as far as Croatia last week?"

"I had heard," Bill replied. "It was in the _Prophet_. They got him back, though, didn't they?"

"They did, but the Ministry are terrified of something like that happening again in the general confusion of everyone coming and going. The entire Portkey office is in absolute disarray; it's a nightmare," Percy said. "Anyway, Audrey submitted an application to get a Portkey to Canada to fetch her parents, but because of the strict new guidelines about who can travel, she's not allowed to go with anyone who's not related to her by either blood or marriage, and she wants me to go with her – she doesn't know what she's going to find when she get over there, and...well, I want to support her."

"Right, and so when's this Portkey she's got leaving?" asked Bill.

"Thursday," Percy said. "As in, the day after tomorrow."

"And you want to go with her and you have to be married to do this?" his brother asked.

Percy nodded. "I've registered at the Ministry for a wedding ceremony – they can do it at five o'clock tonight," he explained. "And I'm going to be there, marrying Audrey, whatever else happens today. But I do want everyone to be there, and I know Mum is going to take some real persuading, which I really don't have time to do today."

"So you want me to help persuade Mum?" asked Bill.

"Well, you and Fleur, if she's willing," said Percy. "I know Mum had a lot of...trouble accepting your marriage, so I was hoping that you could—"

"Tell her not to worry, it can't possibly be as awful as our union?" Bill asked drily.

"Yes!" Percy exclaimed. "I mean, no," he added, blushing. "Just...maybe show her that things she thinks are terrible ideas—particularly marriages she thinks are terrible ideas—aren't necessarily so?"

"I do think," Bill said, shaking his head at his younger brother in amusement, "that it is utterly ridiculous that the one spontaneous decision you ever make in your life is to get married."

"Does that mean you'll help?" Percy asked eagerly.

"I'll go and find Fleur, and see if she's willing," replied Bill. "Why don't you go and fetch Audrey, and we'll meet you at The Burrow in—"

"Oh, there's no need!" Percy said, throwing open the door to Bill's office enthusiastically. "She's right here!" A rather sheepish looking Audrey waved over at him.

"...Of course she is," Bill said.

* * *

In some ways, thought Fleur, it was rather gratifying to know that Mrs. Weasley the Original objected to all potential spouses of her sons, and not just her (though she did wonder how many objections Molly would raise should Ron and Hermione stand up and announce their impending nuptials). She had to stifle a smile as she sat around the kitchen table in The Burrow with her husband, parents-in-law, George, Ginny and Harry and watched Percy and Audrey patiently squash all of Molly's arguments as to why they shouldn't get married that afternoon.

"But we haven't time to prepare anything!" Molly said, wringing her hands.

"Look, Mother," Percy said gently. "Audrey and I don't want a big fuss made. A quiet little ceremony with just the family is all we want, and we'd only end up doing just that should we postpone the whole thing."

"But what about your parents?" cried Molly, turning to Audrey.

"Isn't that sort of the point?" Bill asked. "They're getting married so they can go and fetch her parents' together..."

"Can't you get around that rule somehow?" Harry asked, curiously. "I mean, I'm not saying you shouldn't get married whenever you want to," he added hurriedly, "just that you work in that Department at the Ministry...surely you can just get the rule ignored? Call in a favour somewhere? I mean, I'm sure I could - this Chosen One malarkey has got to be useful for something."

"I can't do that!" Percy replied, sounding horrified. "There can't be one rule for me and another for everyone else...it's just not right!"

"And there's the Percy we know and love," George muttered, the corners of his mouth twitching into the closest approximation of a smile he could manage these days.

"But dear," Molly said, ignoring the others and speaking only to Audrey, "Won't your family want to be at the wedding? I wouldn't dream of doing anything without hearing their opinions first..."

"My family are all Muggle, so even if we waited a while to have a ceremony, we'd still have to have two," the pretty brunette said patiently. "Only my parents and sister know about my magic, so there'd have to be a Muggle wedding for my grandparents and cousins and so forth. Besides, I've never wanted a big fuss – just the legalities sorted at the Ministry, then a little party afterwards...Percy tells me you're an excellent baker, so we were hoping you'd get a chance to make us a cake this afternoon, for the reception?"

This girl was _good_, Fleur thought. A mere year older than her, she was handling Molly's protestations much better than she had done – it appeared that sweetness and flattery worked much better than brashness, haughtiness and simply ignoring her mother-in-law's comments did.

"Oh, well," Molly said, preening slightly. "I'm sure I could rustle something up..." There was a pause, during which Fleur tried not to smile as she saw Percy watch his mother with bated breath. "But are you _sure _you won't look back on this in the future and wish you'd had a bigger wedding, more of a celebration?"

"No, Mrs. Weasley, I really won't—" Audrey began, but her soon-to-be husband cut her off.

"We couldn't have a big party, not so soon after Fred..." He trailed off.

"That's not what he would have wanted," George said, and Fleur was aware of the eyes of every Weasley in the room travelling towards the second youngest son. "Not no fuss at all," he continued. "Fred would have wanted fireworks. And lots of 'em." No one quite knew what to say to this. "So I'd better go and see what I can rustle up, hadn't I?"

"Oh, _George_!" cried Mrs. Weasley, throwing her arms around him. Percy mouthed a thank you to him over their mother's shoulder, and George quirked an eyebrow. Fleur had been around the Weasleys long enough to know that this translated to 'you owe me', but had also been around them long enough to know that no one ever kept score in this family.

She wondered vaguely if anyone (apart from Bill) could tell her quirks yet. She rather thought not.

* * *

That afternoon was the busiest the Weasleys had been since the war's end.

The missing family members and Hermione were located and informed of the evening's developments; Bill and Charlie took Percy off to 'prepare' him for the wedding (Fleur threatened her husband with castration should he get his younger brother drunk before his wedding) and Harry, Ron, George and Arthur set up the garden under the direction (and supervision) of Hermione. Despite what Percy and Audrey had said about not wanting 'a big fuss', the garden was transformed into a sea of flowers and a long table was set out for the cake Molly was preparing, which was also decorated with flowers and bows. George's fireworks were positioned ready for the grand display, and Mrs Weasley and Ginny were busy in the kitchen.

Fleur had offered to help Audrey charm a pair of dress robes white, an offer the bride had gladly accepted, and the two witches headed upstairs to Ginny's room. "I don't think Percy's mother likes me," Audrey confessed, after half an hour of inane chatter about the weather and flower arrangements. She sounded almost guilty as she said it, and Fleur felt a rush of empathy for the other woman.

"On zhe contrary, I theenk she likes you rather a lot," she said. "She 'as accepted your marriage in about 'alf an 'our – eet took 'er a year to accept zhat Bill and I were to be married."

"What changed her mind? Or was it a gradual thing?" asked Audrey, curious.

"Bill got attacked by a werewolf," Fleur replied.

"Ah," said Audrey.

"Indeed," Fleur nodded.

"Well, I hope it doesn't take something like that for—" began Audrey, but Fleur shushed her. "She's coming!" she mouthed, and began talking loudly about the most fashionable colours for bridesmaids' dresses.

"Audrey, dear," Molly said a moment later, entering the bedroom, "I hope you don't mind, but I've taken the liberty of picking you a bunch of flowers from the garden for your bouquet—and I don't want any arguing, you're having a bouquet! And you know, it's Midsummer's Eve, which means they will be extra-potent – flowers picked at Midsummer are meant to bring you good luck and a happy marriage, if they're used in your bouquet. I had some in my own bridal bouquet – I picked them on Midsummer's Eve with Arthur, then we were married three days later... I can only hope that you and Percy will have as long and loving a marriage as we have!"

Audrey broke into a broad smile. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley!" she said. "I...I would be honoured to have this as my bouquet."

"Oh, call me Molly, dear, or Mum," said the older witch, pulling the younger into a hug. "And if there's anything we can do – anything at all! – to help you find your parents, you don't hesitate to ask, you hear?"

"Thank you, Mrs—Molly," Audrey repeated, returning the hug.

"Now, do you have everything ready?" Molly asked, surveying the room. "It's four o'clock – we have to be there in an hour!"

"I think we have everything under control, don't we?" asked Audrey, turning to Fleur, who nodded her agreement.

"Do you have your old, new, borrowed and blue?" asked Ginny, who had just stepped into the room.

"Well, Percy did give me these this morning, when we agreed to get married," Audrey said, pointing to the pearls adorning her ears. "They were meant to be for my birthday, but he got a bit...over-excited when we agreed to get married..." She blushed slightly.

"Your old thing can be zhe dress robes," Fleur said. "And zhey were blue before we charmed zhem – does zhat count?"

"No, have this," Ginny said, passing Audrey a blue handkerchief. "It's clean, I promise – and it can be your borrowed and your blue!"

"Thanks, Ginny," smiled Audrey. Fleur felt—though quickly supressed—a twinge of jealousy – like her mother, Ginny did not seem to have the sort of problems accepting Audrey that she had accepting Fleur. But then, this was probably just because Percy had been estranged for so long that they were just glad to have him back, regardless of who he brought with him.

Wasn't it?

"Oh, I do love weddings!" her mother-in-law said, undermining her statement somewhat by bursting into tears. Audrey looked alarmed, but Ginny took over, grinning and shaking her head slightly at her two sisters-in-law.

"C'mon, Mum, let's go and get ready," she said, gently steering her mother out of the bedroom. Fleur waited until they were gone before turning back to Audrey.

"Zhat," she said, nodding her head towards the door, "was very eempressive. She likes you."

Audrey gave a small smile. "Oh, I don't—"

"Trust me, she 'as accepted zhe idea of your marriage," she said. "I should know – eet took me a year to get 'er to like me..."

"Oh, well, that's...erm...good?" Audrey said, clearly flustered.

Fleur nodded. "Of course, zhe minute zhat you are married, she will start dropping rather large 'ints about wanting grandchildren." Audrey raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yes. She 'as been on at me for months, never mind zhe war going on. And, you know zhat Ginny and 'Arry are together now? Well, I overheard 'er telling 'er to _be careful_ because giving birth ees a terrible experience, and with Charlie, she was in labour for thirty six 'ours, and Percy was zhree weeks overdue in zhe middle of an August 'eatwave, and Ron deed not want to come out so zhey had to stick forceps up zhere...well, you get zhe picture," she finished hastily at Audrey's horrified expression. "Clearly, she does not want Ginny to become...in zhe family way, as zhey say, so young. But for me, she talks of pregnancy like eet was zhe most blissful time of 'er life, and says zhat giving birth was like shelling a particularly tiny pea."

"And you don't want kids?" guessed Audrey, as Fleur helped her into her dressrobes.

"Oh, I do want children eventually," Fleur said. "But per'aps when I am a bit older, _non_? I am only twenty one, and I am not some sort of...baby making machine, you know?"

Audrey giggled at this, before turning slightly glum. "I know what you mean – children would be nice, but not for a good few years yet. We've only just come out of this dreadful war, I've got my parents to think of – getting them back is my biggest worry right now, and then there's my career...Percy and I will need to save up for a bit before we can even think of taking time off for me to raise children. It's just not a good idea just yet."

Fleur was overwhelmed by the feeling that she'd somehow found an ally – someone who understood how she felt. She loved the Weasleys, even Molly, despite her fussing and prodding, as though they were her own family – but even though her surname said that she did, and they had been through a war together, she didn't fully feel as though she _belonged_ in the family. Bill, of course, said that she did—and she knew that she did to him—but she still felt as though she was an outsider. She got the 'stranger' vibes much less from Harry, Ron and Hermione after everything that had happened in April, but as they were so often together as a little clique—these days with Ginny often tagging along too—this wasn't as comforting as it might have been. It was nice to have someone there who _understood_ what it was like to be the outsider.

"You should start rehearsing what you are going to say when she asks you about children," she told Audrey. "I made zhe mistake of saying 'no' once, and you might 'ave zhought zhat I'd stabbed 'er zhrough zhe 'eart, zhe look she gave me..."

"I'll tell her that Percy and I need lots of practise first," Audrey said, with a mischievous wink that belied her rather drab and mousey appearance.

Fleur threw back her head and laughed, deciding that she liked Audrey rather a lot.

* * *

The wedding itself was meant to be a small, personal affair, but with the entire extended Weasley family there, it couldn't be. All of the Weasleys plus Harry and Hermione made ten people alone; and a friend of Audrey's from work, plus Percy's friend Oliver Wood and his girlfriend Katie Something made thirteen people before the bride and groom were even counted, something Fleur was sure the officiating wizard was surprised by.

"We told him it would be a family affair," Bill murmured in her ear, just before the ceremony started, reading her mind as he often seemed able to do. "I think he expected me, Charlie, Mum and Dad and Audrey's parents, not an overabundance of redheads..."

"'E must be zhe one wizard in Britain 'oo does not know of zhe Weasley family, zhen," Fleur whispered in response, and her husband gave her a rather embarrassed grin. After the ceremony, which was a quick affair, the Weasleys apparated back to the Burrow, where they were joined by Andromeda Tonks and her grandson. "When did she arrive?" Fleur asked Bill, as Mrs. Weasley lined everyone up for photograph after photograph.

"Harry brought her round," her husband replied. "She's another one he feels guilty about, I think. And he doesn't want Teddy to miss out on things like he had to, with his...upbringing."

"Eet ees terrible, what zhose people did to 'im," Fleur said, shaking her head.

"The Dursleys? I know," Bill agreed. "Poor kid." They both sighed. "Doesn't mean I want him dating my sister though," he added, narrowing his eyes as the two shared a kiss underneath one of the trees in the orchard.

"Oh, shush," chastised Fleur. "Zhey are not doing anything you weren't at zhat age!"

"Yes, but—"

"Don't you dare tell me eet ees different for girls!" Fleur said. "Now, come along, I zhink your muzzer wants 'elp bringing out the food."

The two of them headed over to Mrs. Weasley, who seemed pleased to see them. "Ah, there you are! I was thinking of bringing out the food now – we have some sandwiches and salad, and I thught I'd do the cake in a bit? Yes, right – Bill, go and fetch some of the plates, dear. And Andromeda, you give Teddy to Fleur, and come with me." Before Fleur could say anything, Mrs. Weasley plonked the baby in her arms, and dragged Andromeda off to the kitchen. Bill gave a 'what can I do?' shrug and a cheeky wink that _still_ brought a flush to her cheek, even though they were married, and followed the two women inside, leaving her cradling the child.

She hummed and murmured nonsense to the baby in French, and Teddy, who had been gurgling away, quietened.

"You're good with him," said a voice behind her.

"My sister – Gabrielle – I am old enough to remember when she was born," she said, turning around to address her father-in-law. "I 'elped my parents with 'er."

"I thought so," he nodded. "Bill was the same with Ginny and Ron and the twi—George."

"Teddy ees not so fussy, eet 'elps," said Fleur.

"It does," agreed Arthur. "But you know, Molly won't let you put him down all evening..."

"She wants Bill and I to 'ave a child," she replied.

"And you don't want to?" asked Arthur. "Or would you rather wait?"

"Yes, zhat ees eet," Fleur said, still speaking softly to avoid waking the baby. "Everything ees still so...unstable, ees zhat zhe word?"

"It is that," her father-in-law replied. "And I think the two of you are wise to wait. We had our children during the last war and it was just...well, the milestones are all overshadowed by the fear and worry, you know? It's the one thing I'd change, from when they were growing up, if I could..." He stared unseeingly through the trees. "But, it's your lives. I wouldn't dream of telling the two of you what to do. I'm sure whatever you decide will work out for the best..."

"I 'ope so," whispered Fleur. Teddy gave a gurgle. "Would you like to 'old 'im?" she enquired.

Arthur gave a genuine—and rare, these days—smile. "I would love to." He accepted the baby off her, and cradled him in his arms. "We can only do this when Molly's inside, you know," he whispered conspiratorially to the child. "She wants Fleur to get used to the idea of babies so she's going to give you to her as often as possible. In fact, I think she's in there with your Granny at the moment arranging babysitting times!" Fleur laughed. "Ah, but you're such a lovely little baby," he added, as Teddy gave him a smile, "I think I might have to defy my wife's wishes and not give you up to the lovely Miss Fleur. No, I shall keep you all to myself! Although..." he wrinkled his nose and grimaced slightly at a sudden, very unpleasant smell, "perhaps you would like to take him and change him?"

Alarmed, Fleur stepped backwards. Mr. Weasley heaved a dramatic sigh, and headed back towards the house, a rather smelly Teddy in his arms.

* * *

The small party thrown for Percy and Audrey—or, yet another Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as they were now—went well, all things considered. Charlie tried to chat up Audrey's friend Helen, even after she showed him the picture of her husband and two children she kept in her handbag. Oliver, Katie, George and Harry kept everyone amused with a play-by-play of the match that had won them the Quidditch Cup in Oliver's final year of school – though as Katie was now wheelchair-bound and unable to play the sport again (as a result of an injury sustained in the final battle) and another member of the team had died, the conversation was not as animated as it once might have been.

Molly kept trying to pass Teddy over to Fleur, but Hermione and Ginny kept getting in the way and taking the baby, cooing over him like they'd never seen one before. Ron, to Bill's amusement, looked rather suspiciously at the baby and backed away hastily when he was offered him to hold. Molly made some very pointed comments about Bill being "good with babies", which Fleur did her best to ignore, before quickly changing the subject. "Ees Audrey going to throw 'er bouquet before zhey leave?" she asked, cutting her mother-in-law off in the middle of a story about Bill helping with Ron when the latter had Dragon Pox.

"Ooh, yes – well remembered, dear!" Molly said, dashing off to speak to the blushing bride.

"Your muzzer—" Fleur began, half-amused and half-exasperated, as she made her way over to Bill.

"—wants us to single-handedly repopulate Wizarding Britain, I know," Bill said, shifting the weight of Teddy Lupin slightly in his arms. "She won't shut up about it, because that's Mum, but I've told her we'll do what we want, _when_ we want..." They both looked over at her, as she gave Audrey very specific directions about where exactly the bouquet should be thrown. "It's just Mum. And we don't want kids yet, and there's nothing she can do about it."

"Eet ees not that I don't want children, eet ees just zhat I am only twenty-one, and zhe war—" began Fleur.

"I know, I know, and you don't have to explain it to me," Bill said. "I just think that with Fred and everything...well, she's desperate for something to _do_. And helping you through a pregnancy and having a newborn...she wants something good to do, something positive. But, you know, an Auror was killed in a struggle with a runaway Death Eater last night – Harry told me, it's not going to be in the papers for a few days. And she knows that that's not the sort of world you should be bringing kids into, even if we have won." They looked at Teddy, who chose that moment to change his hair a shade of pink that reminded them both painfully of his mother. "And we don't need any more orphans like this one, even if he does have family to look after him still..." he added in a whisper.

"I know," Fleur said, resting her head on Bill's shoulder. "Besides," she added, with an attempt at a smile, "zhings will get easier now zhat zhere ees Audrey to persuade to—aah!" She barely had time to react, plucking the bouquet of flowers out of the air seconds before they smacked her in the face. Fleur glared over at Audrey who mouthed something she couldn't quite understand.

"Good catching skills you've got there," George remarked, studying Fleur with a sudden interest as he strolled over. "You should've learnt to play Quidditch!" Bill let out a bark of laughter.

"I _can_ play Quidditch," said Fleur, rather haughtily. "I was on zhe team at Beauxbatons. But unfortunately, zhere 'ave been few opportunities to play, recently."

"Oh, right then," George said, looking momentarily taken aback. "I'll have you on my team when we next play, then..."

"You bloody won't," Bill said, grinning at his brother. "This one's all mine!"

"_Zhis one_ ees not a piece of meat!" his wife interjected. "I am not going to be passed around like—"

"And speaking of that," put in Charlie, who had sidled up to join them, "the witch who catches the bouquet is the next to be married, don't'cha know. So, the fair maiden here can divorce the wolf, and then marry _me_!"

Fleur smacked him around the back of the head for that comment, and Bill threatened him with a good hexing once he was relieved of the baby, but Charlie laughed them off. "Ah, you'll come round!" he grinned. "What witch wouldn't, when faced with _these_ good looks?"

"My dear brother," George said. "If we're talking about good looks, _I'm_—"

"Oh, Fleur, I'm so sorry," Audrey cut in, dashing over to them. "Your Mum," she nodded to the three men, "wanted me to throw the bouquet in your direction, I don't know why. Helen's gone home, and she doesn't know how serious Oliver and Katie are...and I don't think she wants Hermione or Ginny getting any ideas, but there was another reason, and she wouldn't tell me—"

"Eet's fine," Fleur replied, waving a hand. "I caught zhem before zhey could do permanent damage!"

"Oh, and George!" added Audrey, whirling around to face him, "Percy said that he was particularly looking forward to the display you promised him?" She frowned slightly after delivering her message.

"Ah, the _fireworks_!" George's face lit up. "Good old Percy, reminding me. Charlie, if you'd care to assist? Now, Miss Harwicke—I mean, Mrs. Weasley—you're in for a treat! If you could just..."

Their voices faded away, and Bill and Fleur were left standing with Teddy, underneath one of the apple trees. "Eet was a lovely wedding," said Fleur.

"It was," her husband agreed. "And no Death Eaters attacked during the reception. Always a good thing."

"Do not jinx eet – we are not finished yet," warned Fleur. "I zhink zhat—"

"Fleur dear, I'm so glad you caught the bouquet!" Mrs. Weasley had appeared behind them. "You know I said I made it from flowers picked at Midsummer? Those blooms are particularly good at bringing fertility into a marriage, and—"

"Oh, Mum, have you seen George?" asked Bill innocently, as Fleur's eyes narrowed. "He said something about fireworks, and I think he's planning some sort of prank?"

"Merlin's beard!" Mrs. Weasley couldn't have moved quicker if she'd apparated, as she set off to find her son and prevent his mischief, leaving the two alone once more.

"You know, I think it might be easier to just have a child," Bill said thoughtfully. "It'd at least stop the hints, which are about as subtle as a hippogriff on the rampage."

"Of course, _ma cherie_," Fleur said sweetly, and her husband's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Just as long as you are zhe one going zhrough labour, you understand?" She laughed at his horrified expression.

"No babies just yet, then," he said.

"_Absolument_. No babies yes," she agreed.

* * *

**A/N: **In Finnish tradition, Midsummer's Eve is the most powerful time for both magic and marriage (and fertility, though, ironically enough, Fleur is not going to end up pregnant _just_ yet!). Tradition states that a particular type of fern will flower on Midsummer's Eve, and anyone who picked it will gain magic powers (ha!) and become rich, hence why Audrey has it in her bouquet. Finally, there is a tradition that unmarried women who wanted a marriage proposal should roll around naked in the fields of a house containing unmarried sons at Midsummer, in order to get the sons to propose. That will _not_ be included in this story, but I do kind of want to include it in _a_ story...just maybe one with an M rating!

Please review.


	2. September

The moment the clock struck twelve, Fleur ceased duplicating the piles and piles of forms her boss had left her, raced out of her office and through the corridors of Gringotts, out underneath the scaffolding which was in place whilst the repairs to the dragon damaged building were completed and onto Diagon Alley. As soon as she was free of the anti-apparition wards of the bank, she apparated back to the home she shared with her husband on the Cornish coast.

Once inside the cottage, she found Bill lying on the settee in the front room, rubbing a potion onto his old scars. "Bad this month," he grunted by way of greeting, as she entered the room.

"Let me," she said, taking the potion from him, and summoning a cool cloth for his forehead. "You are burning..."

"I'll live," he said, gasping slightly as she brushed one of the wounds on his chest. "Been worse..."

"Not much worse," she replied.

Bill's scars were, for most of the month, completely fine – apart from their rather unsightly appearance. On the night of the full moon, however, they caused him great pain, and during particularly bad months – as this one was shaping up to be – they hurt during daylight hours as well. Most cruelly of all, in Fleur's opinion, was the fact that there was nothing that could be done about it – the wolfsbane potion, which had worked so well for Remus Lupin, was ineffectual as Bill was not an actual werewolf. Cooling charms and standard pain relieving potions were all that could be done to help; he merely had to wait out the pain, which generally faded after the moon set.

"I have you, which helps," Bill said, as she stroked his hair. "And you could make me lunch, too, that would help as well..." She rolled her eyes and playfully slapped his hands away from her waist, but got up to make sandwiches anyway.

* * *

Back in her tiny office, Fleur pulled out a small diary from her desk drawer. A double page spread at the front of the little book had a year planner on which the calender was marked. Every twenty eight days, she put a neat cross through the date in green ink, marking off another full moon, and another day of her husband's life marred by the terrible war, which was supposedly finished. For families that had been touched by tragedy, like the Weasleys had been many times over, the war would never be done with.

Not only did they have to contend with losing a son, sibling or twin, there was Bill's wolf-like tendencies; Ginny's trauma from a year of being punished by the Cruciatus Curse and Harry, Ron and Hermione's many scars from their Horcrux hunt. Percy had been hit by a spell that left him blind in his left eye in the final battle, George's ear had been cursed off and Charlie now walked with a permanent limp. Audrey, the newest Mrs. Weasley, had successfully found her parents and younger sister in Canada and brought them back to the UK with help from her husband, but her relationship with them was apparently strained, as they no longer trusted the magical world and were reluctant to accept her involvement with it.

As for Fleur, after the Death Eaters had attacked her wedding, she refused to allow her family—and especially Gabrielle—to visit her new country of residence. Even now that the war was over, she couldn't face the thought of ever seeing terror on her little sister's face like she had at her wedding, and insisted that they stay in France. Her parents had suggested they come and stay in Cornwall over the summer, now that the dangers had apparently passed but Fleur did not take them up on this offer. Instead, she and Bill had spent two weeks visiting France, most of which had been spent in the Muggle world, as the witches and wizards there were quick to interpret Bill's scars and refuse to allow 'the werewolf' near them or their children.

Sighing, Fleur shook herself out of her rather depressing reverie, and picked up a quill, marking an 'X' through the date and wondering, as she did so, how many other wives out there had to mark their husbands' "Time of the Month" (as George so eloquently put it). Speaking of it being "that Time of the Month"...she frowned slightly, looking at the other 'X' marks – this time, in red ink – that peppered the calendar. They had been as regular as clockwork previously, but it was now the middle of September, and she hadn't had to mark a red 'X'—and thus, hadn't had a period—since the beginning of July.

She remembered not being too concerned when she had skipped her period at the beginning of August – with all the stress of the previous months, it didn't seem that unusual that she was late. Though she was _very_ late. She'd missed two periods by now. Could she be...?

No, she wasn't pregnant. Pregnant women were either sick constantly, or felt gloriously healthy all the time, and she was neither of those things. She just felt normal. And anyway, she and Bill were being careful – they didn't want a baby just yet, so she made sure to take her contraceptive potions regularly.

Except...she'd forgotten her potions when she'd gone to stay in France, and they'd risked it - but she had taken the potion regularly since. So there was a chance – a tiny, tiny chance - that she was pregnant. She sighed. The chance that she could be pregnant was so small as to be almost non-existent, but until she had definitively disproved it, she knew she was going to keep wondering.

"Eet ees like," she said aloud, "when you are a small child and you zhink zhat zhere are monsters in your wardrobe. You know logically zhat zhere are not, but you cannot sleep until you 'ave checked."

"Until you've checked what?" came the curious voice of one of her co-workers, who had stuck her head around the door. "And don't you know that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness?" Annie added.

"Talking to yourself is fine, it's when things start talking back you've got a problem," Fleur muttered, more to herself than to the pretty, raven-haired girl.

"What now?" Annie asked. "You know I can't understand you when you start wittering _en français_. Anyway, we need to get going for the meeting."

"Zhe meeting?" repeated Fleur blankly.

"The meeting, you know, with the Parisian whojemeflops. Wizards from whatever it is you Frenchies call Gringotts. You're translating?" said Annie, shaking her head in amusement. "Honestly, you must have been totally wasted last night to not remember any of that! But don't worry – I _always_ carry spare hangover potion in my bag for these sorts of situations. Ooh, and speaking of getting totally wasted – did I tell you I went out again with Derrick last night?"

Annie continued gossiping all the way to their meeting—and through it, as well, whenever she could—and Fleur rather absent-mindedly noticed how different the two girls had become. They were the same age, both pretty girls who had started working at the bank at the same time, so it was perhaps natural that they should become friends. They shared an interest in fashion, punk rock and cute boys, and had spent many evenings in each others tiny bedsits, drinking cheap wine out of chipped mugs before going out and hitting the town and relying on magic to cure their hangovers and hide the bags under their eyes the next day at work.

Annie had initially set her sights on the handsome cursebreaker Bill Weasley, who had recently returned from Egypt to take a desk job ('_Merlin only knows why, but thank God he has because getting to stare at that arse everyday is the only good part about this job_!'), but had backed down good-naturedly when it became clear that he had his eyes set on Fleur. Now she was still going out and partying, whilst Fleur was a married woman, possibly with a baby on the way. It was strange how these things worked out.

The meeting was indescribably dull – she was only there to translate for the French ambassadors, but given that they spoke excellent English, she was hardly needed at all – and even Annie's chatter and note-passing failed to cheer her up. Mostly, she felt stupid for worrying about being pregnant – the chance that she could be was so slight that it almost seemed more reasonable to worry about a broomstick falling out of the sky and hitting her on the head.

Whilst she knew very little about the details of pregnancy, she remembered from when her mother was pregnant with Gabrielle that she'd had morning sickness, odd cravings and a hugely swollen stomach. Fleur felt perfectly healthy, had no strange food cravings, and a quick check proved that her stomach was flat as ever. So there was definitely no chance that she was pregnant, then. Except...when did all these things start? Her mother hadn't started showing with Gabrielle until the fifth month, she remembered, but sickness and cravings started earlier...didn't they? Or maybe not... Yes, she would definitely have to pick up a test on the way home, if only so the voice in her head would shut up with this constant back-and-forth about the possibility of her being pregnant.

After the meeting, the rest of the afternoon passed smoothly, and Fleur was able to leave at four thirty on the dot. She had told Bill she would pick up some things for dinner on her way home, so she ambled down Diagon Alley into the food stores, enjoying the feel of the late afternoon sunshine on her face. Despite it being the middle of September already, they were having something of an Indian Summer in London, so whilst the leaves were starting to change, it was still nice enough to walk around outside in just her lightweight silver work robes. It was a shame, she thought, that the full moon came tonight – it would have been a lovely evening for an early supper at the French café she loved.

But that was clearly not going to happen, so instead, she bypassed the café and entered the apothecary, buying a pain relieving potion and a Dreamless Sleep potion for Bill, and, after a moment's hesitation, a pregnancy test. "That's seven Galleons thirteen Sickles, please," said the man working behind the counter. She paid him, and turned to leave, accidentally bumping into someone as she went.

"Oh, _je suis desolee_," she said, as she dropped her potions on the floor. Fortunately, they were stored in shatterproof phials, so they were still useable, but they still rolled in all directions.

"Here you go," said a familiar voice, and Fleur looked up to find the person she had bumped into was none other than one of her many brothers-in-law.

"_Merci_, George! I am so sorry, I was not looking where I was—" she began, accepting the pain relieving potion from him.

"It's nothing," George said, as she hastily stuffed the pregnancy test into her bag. He had been eyeing it rather strangely, but shook himself as though he had been seeing things. "My fault entirely! Are these all for Bill?" he added, gesturing to the potions.

"Yes, 'e is 'aving a bad month zhis month," Fleur said, accepting the hand he offered and standing up gracefully.

George pulled a sympathetic face. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Sadly not, unless you can control zhe moon," Fleur sighed.

Ruefully, George shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't," he admitted. "But seriously – if you need anything at all, get me on the floo and I'll be there."

"I appreciate eet – and I know Bill does too," said Fleur. "Eef you do not mind me asking, zhough, why are you 'ere? Are you ill?"

"No, nothing like that," George said quickly. "I'm just, uh...I have this idea for a new product, at the shop. It's just a simple little thing, still in the planning stages, but I needed to pick up a bunch of ingredients for the potion."

"Oh, right," nodded Fleur. "What ees eet that you are making?"

"I'd rather not say," George replied. "It's not a big thing but it's the first new thing I've invented since...without Fred. Normally, we'd work on stuff together, but with him gone...I don't know, it could be a rubbish idea, but I could always count on Fred to let me know if what I'd come up with was totally pants. But without him..."

"You 'ave to rely on yourself?" asked Fleur. George nodded, but she shook her head at him. "You don't, George! You 'ave all of your family to 'elp you, and—"

"Oh, I know I do – trust me, I couldn't have gotten through the last few months without you lot," George said. "It's just...don't get me wrong, but none of you are exactly what you'd call practical jokers, are you?"

"One time," Fleur replied, a surprisingly evil smile appearing on her pretty face, "I will tell you what I did to zhe Potions teacher's classroom at Beauxbatons. Zhen you will not say zhat!"

"Now that sounds like a story and a half," grinned George. "However, we must save it for another time, because I think old Dobbins here—" he nodded towards the shopkeeper, "wants to shut up for the night, and I'm holding him up. So I'd best get going. Give my best to Bill!"

"I shall," smiled Fleur. "I'm sure I will see you soon, _au revoir_!"

"You will – on Sunday. Lunch at the Burrow?" he prompted.

"Of course!" replied Fleur. "See you zhen!" She turned and left the shop, wandering back down into the Alley with a smile on her face. Her meeting with George had reminded her of her school days, and the fun she had had with her friends. Perhaps she and Bill could look into taking another holiday in France over the autumn, and she could introduce him to them. They could go out to all the places they used to go when she was younger, and she could introduce him to the wizard club scene in Paris. In France, the age of apparition was sixteen and the law was much more relaxed on alcohol, so she and her friends had spent many nights in the clubs during the holidays. It would be fun to take Bill back there...

The clinking of the bottles in her bag brought her back down to earth. They would be doing nothing of the sort if it turned out she was pregnant... She glanced at her watch. It wasn't quite five o'clock – if she popped into the Leaky Cauldron, which was handily just across the street, she could perform the test and put her mind at rest before she went home to tend to Bill. He certainly didn't need her trying to administer potions to him in the absentminded mood she was in currently.

Stepping inside the pub, she ordered a Butterbeer from the curvaceous blonde working behind the bar (who was attracting quite a lot of attention from the other customers), took the bottle of liquid from her and settled into a rather dark and dingy corner of the pub. She took a sip from the Butterbeer and nearly gagged, spitting it straight back into the bottle. Something was definitely off about it, but for three sickles, it was hardly worth complaining over. Pushing it to one side, she pulled out the phial containing the pregnancy test. According to the instructions, she needed to add a drop of blood to it, wait five minutes and see if it changed colour. If it remained clear, she wasn't pregnant. If it turned green, she was.

Picking up her wand, Fleur transfigured a matchstick into a needle, pricked her finger and added a couple of drops of blood to the potion, before quickly Healing her finger with a wave of her wand. She stared at the potion, before realising how uneasy it was making her, and hid it behind one of the menus.

Waiting for it to take effect was the longest five minutes of her life. She tried another sip of her Butterbeer, but there was definitely something off with it. No one else seemed to be having that problem, she surmised, looking around the pub, where a few early diners were eating and drinking merrily, but then, she reasoned, it could have just been that the charm on her particular bottle that kept the contents fresh had worn off. Once the five minutes were up, she pulled the bottle out from behind the menu with her eyes closed, and then, slowly, opened them.

The contents were green.

_No._

There had to be some mistake! Fleur scrabbled around in her bag, before pulling out the parchment containing the instructions. Maybe there was something about double checking, taking another test...but no, printed in big letters across the top were the words "Certified by St. Mungo's Hospital of Magical Maladies and Injuries. 100 per cent accurate. Will never give you a false positive."

So that was it. She was pregnant, then. She got to her feet...

* * *

"Mrs. Weasley? Mrs. Weasley, can you hear me?"

Who was calling for her mother-in-law? No, _she_ was Mrs. Weasley now. Were they calling her? She opened her eyes. What was this floor doing, all up close and personal? She shifted her eyes slightly, and saw the concerned face of the barmaid staring down at her. She tried to sit up, but the barmaid laid a surprisingly strong hand on her shoulder, and forced her back.

"Just stay where you are a moment, please," she said kindly. "I think you fainted briefly – just for a moment or two, so I'm sure it's nothing to worry about – but if you sit up too suddenly, you might pass out again." She summoned a cushion and tucked it under Fleur's head gently. "I've sent someone for some water for you. I'm Hannah, by the way."

"I'm Fleur Weasley," Fleur said, feeling faintly ridiculous. "'Ow did you know…?"

"Who you were?" finished Hannah. "Well, you Weasleys are pretty famous now...but also, I was at Hogwarts when you were the Beauxbatons school champion, so I recognised you, and I remembered you were with the other Weasleys at the Battle. I knew Harry, Ron and Hermione, and Ginny a bit too – I was in the same year as the three of them. But enough about me! I need to check you're okay. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions to check you haven't damaged your head?"

Fleur nodded, and Hannah asked her a few questions along the lines of what day it was, and where she was. Once she was satisfied that all was as it should be, she allowed Fleur to sit up and sip a glass of water slowly. "I am terribly sorry for just passing out like zhat," Fleur said, by now heartily embarrassed. "I 'ave never ever done anything like zhat in my entire life before, and—"

"Oh, it's fine, don't you worry," Hannah said. "We all have our moments – and trust me, someone passing out because they forgot to eat lunch or whatever is _nothing_ compared to what I had to deal with last year at school." Fleur smiled and nodded, saying that, yes, she had forgotten to eat lunch, she'd just been _so_ busy, but she would be sure to always do so in the future, having learnt her lesson now. Hannah seemed satisfied by this, though she made her eat a couple of Ginger Newts before she allowed her to go anywhere. "My mother," she said, a cloud seeming to pass over her face as she said the two words—and, given the war they had just come out of, Fleur did not need to ask why—"always recommended Ginger biscuits for nausea and dizziness."

"Well, zhey seem to be working," Fleur said, feeling the biscuits settle the stomach she hadn't realised had become unsettled. "And zhank you so much for zhis, I really am grateful to you."

"Not at all," replied Hannah. "I'm indebted to three Weasleys for saving my life during the war – consider this just the tiniest bit of payback."

Fleur smiled. "Zhank you, sincerely," she said. "Now, I must get going, or my 'usband will be worried." Once Hannah was satisfied that Fleur was able to stand, she took her to the private floo in the kitchens, handing her her bag.

"Everything's in there, and the floo powder's on the shelf there," Hannah said, nodding. "I have to get back out on the bar, but give me a yell if you need anything!" Fleur thanked her once more, before taking a deep breath and a pinch of floo powder.

It was time to go home and tell Bill.

* * *

Bill rolled over onto his back, opening his eyes with a sigh of pleasure. There was very little that compared to waking up the morning after a full moon and feeling completely and utterly pain free. He looked over to Fleur's side of the bed, only to find that she wasn't there. Bill looked at the watch on his wrist. It was ten to seven – far too early for her to have gone into work already.

"Strange," he mused.

He got up, stretched, and padded out into the hallway. The door to the guest bedroom was slightly ajar, and he could see a lump in the bed in the shape of his wife. She had obviously gotten sick of him thrashing around in pain in his sleep last night, and headed over there for a good night's rest.

He couldn't blame her. He always asked if she wanted him to go and sleep in the guest room to avoid waking her – his potions helped him sleep, but did nothing for the pain, and she said that he often cried out or jerked around in his sleep because of it – but she always refused, saying that she would stay with him in case he awoke and needed her. But Fleur had been very quiet upon returning from work last night, and, after he questioned her, he discovered that she had taken ill during the day. If she was unwell, she probably wanted a good night's rest, he reasoned, and so heading off to the guest room was probably a wise idea.

Bill headed downstairs to make a pot of tea, and, as an afterthought, heated up two croissants. Bringing his wife breakfast in bed before they had to head off to work was the least he could do to make up for everything she had to put up with. Twenty minutes later, he headed up the stairs, levitating the tray in front of him and casting half an eye over the _Daily Prophet's_ headlines. Fortunately, nothing major seemed to have happened overnight, as the lead headline was something to do with the drummer of the Wyrd Sisters getting married. It was reassuring to see headlines as mundane as that gracing the front pages again.

"Good morning, dear wife," Bill called as he stood on the landing. The curtains in the guest room had been opened, and the pretty September light was streaming in, so it was obvious that Fleur was awake. "I have brought you great gifts of—Fleur! What's wrong?" Hastily setting the tray on the floor, he dashed over to the bed, where his wife was sitting, hands pressed against her stomach, and tears streaming down her face. "Are you ill? Should I called for a Healer?"

Fleur shook her head vigorously, and reached out for his hand. He took it and she squeezed it hard, before looking up at him with her beautiful blue eyes. "I am not ill," she whispered, "I am pregnant."

He was so taken aback for a moment by the suddenness of this announcement that he thought she was joking, but one look at her face told him that she was serious. "Pregnant?" he repeated. "With a baby?"

Fleur gave him a withering look. "_Non_, with a squirrel," she said. "_Oui, une bebe, tu es—_"

"No French, it's too early!" he pleaded. "You're really, really pregnant?"

"I am really, really pregnant," Fleur repeated. "Yesterday, I zhought eet was odd zhat I 'ad not 'ad my time of zhe month twice, but I did not really zhink...I was sure I was not pregnant. But I brought a test anyway, just to be positive, and eet told me zhat I am. We are going to 'ave a baby. But," she added, and her eyes grew teary again. "I do not want to! We agreed, eet ees too soon after zhe war, and everything ees so dangerous! What kind of parents would we be, to bring a child into a world like zhis?"

"I won't pretend that everything's perfect," Bill said, summoning the day's paper. "But look at this. Today's _Prophet_, full of stuff about some celebrity getting married, the Head of Magical Games and Sports retiring and an interview with the Captain of the Harpies. Nothing of any value whatsoever – which, don't get me wrong, totally normal for the _Prophet_ – but it makes a change from 'Rogue Death Eaters running about in your town' or 'Lord Voldemort spotted in café – is he really dead?'. If even they are giving up with the panic inducing headlines, society _must_ be on the mend, right?"

"I suppose," Fleur said doubtfully.

"Nothing's perfect," Bill reiterated. "But things are getting better. And...a baby!" he added, as though the full impact of Fleur's words had just hit him. "We're...we're going to be parents!"

"Eet's terrifying," murmured Fleur. "I do not know 'ow we are supposed to do it!"

"We'll make it up as we go along," Bill said. "After all, it's only going through nine months of whatever on your behalf, then raising a child for eighteen years. How hard can it be?" He gave a slightly manic laugh.

"Don't forget we shall be doing eet een zhe aftermath of zhe most bloody war zhe wizarding world has seen for years, and zhat I am only twenty one," Fleur added, but she was looking down at her stomach with the beginnings of a smile.

"How hard can it be indeed?" repeated Bill. They both laughed rather hysterically. "How...much...pregnant are you?" he asked, clearly struggling with the correct terminology.

"You mean, 'ow far along am I?" she asked, amused. He nodded. "I do not know. Eet ees maybe as much as two months, or a leetle less zhan zhat. I am not sure."

"If we go to St. Mungo's, we can make an appointment for them to tell us, can't we?" asked Bill. She nodded. "We can do that on the way to work, then. If you want to go to work, that is."

"Why wouldn't I?" Fleur asked, confused. "I am pregnant, not an invalid! I take eet you are feeling better than yesterday?"

"I'm fine," Bill said dismissively. "But what about you? Aren't you meant to be throwing up all the time?"

"Do not jinx eet!" Fleur said, her eyes widening. "I do not know when morning sickness or zhe cravings start, but I 'ave not 'ad any yet. Per'aps I won't get zhem at all!" she added hopefully.

"A baby," repeated Bill wondrously, as though he hadn't heard a word his wife had said. "Sorry," he added, apologising quickly. "You must think I'm a right idiot!"

"You are taking zhe news better zhan me," Fleur admitted, a faint flush appearing on her cheeks. Bill gave her a curious look. She squirmed for a moment before admitting, "I passed out in zhe Leaky Cauldron."

* * *

"A _baby_," Bill said, for the hundred and forty-second time (not that Fleur was counting). "A real baby!"

Make that one hundred and forty three times.

"I know," she smiled, shaking her head at her husband. They were sat on a bench in the park at the end of Diagon Alley, surrounded by pretty flutterby bushes and falling leaves. It was another glorious afternoon, which they had both taken off work to go to the hospital together. There, a Healer had congratulated them, telling Fleur she was five and a half weeks pregnant, and gave them a huge bundle of pamphlets designed to guide her through her pregnancy. The Healer had seemed unsurprised that Fleur had not experienced any morning sickness, saying that it was not that uncommon, but that she should not be surprised if she experienced it at any point in the next month and a half. She also gave them a date for the next appointment, when Fleur would be twelve weeks along, when she said she would be able to tell them more about the gender of the baby, and check everything was working as it should be. The appointment had been surprisingly quick, and the couple had apparated to the park before heading home, where Bill continued to express his amazement that they were having a child.

"A real, actual _baby_!" he said again. "I just...I can't wait to tell everyone! I want to get a banner and proclaim it to the world! Just wait until we tell Mum and—"

"No," Fleur said firmly. "We cannot."

"Why ever not?" Bill asked. "Mum will be thrilled, you know Fred's death has been harder on her than it has on anyone except George. A baby will make her happy, you know it will!"

"A baby will," agreed Fleur, "but I am only five weeks along. Many women miscarry zheir babies at zhis point, and my own mother did many times, so I 'ave a family 'istory of eet. You 'eard what zhe Healer said – we shall not know eef everything ees as eet should be until zhe twelve week appointment. Eef we tell your mother zhat I am pregnant and zhen we lose zhe baby..."

"You're right," Bill said softly. "It'd...well, it wouldn't do her any good at all." There was a pause, before he asked, "_Do_ you think you're in danger of losing the baby?"

Fleur shrugged. "For all I was reluctant to get pregnant, now zhat I am, of course I do not want to lose zhis baby," she said. "But until we know for sure..."

"It's best to keep it to ourselves," finished Bill. "Well," he said, his frown being replaced with a smile, "it will be fun to keep a secret from Mum again. It reminds me of the last secret we had from her!"

"What was zhat?" Fleur asked. He gave her a wink. "Oh!" she recalled, grinning back at him. "You know, I do zhink she suspects about zhe...'ow to say, room swapping.'Eet will get you in an 'ole 'eap of trouble!'" Fleur said, in a surprisingly accurate mimicry of her mother-in-law. "And she was right!" she said, swatting playfully at her husband. "Look at me now!"

"I didn't hear _you _complaining at the time!" Bill winked, kissing her on the cheek.

"Per'aphs, but zhe minute I get morning sickness," Fleur warned. "You will not 'ear zhe end of eet! I will 'ave your guts for garters, William Arthur Weasley!"

"That, I do not doubt," replied Bill, laughing.

* * *

**A/N:** Don't worry, it's not too much of a spoiler to say that Fleur _won't_ be losing the baby! The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted that Fleur was turned off alcohol (thinking the Butterbeer was spoiled) – many women report that, upon becoming pregnant (but before 'officially' realising it), they become nauseated by the smell of alcohol and no longer want to drink it. So though she thought she was displaying no symptoms of pregnancy, actually, she was!

I really, really appreciate all the reviews chapter one had, so thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! It would really make my day if you were to do so again (:


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